Great Scot April 2019 Great Scot_156_April_2019_Online | Page 102

2019 SCOTCH COLLEGE SCIENCE ORATION Professor Charlie Teo AM, MBBS, FRACS An inspirational neurosurgeon, pushing the boundaries to the point where the medical world shunned him. But every day, he gives people hope, time & life. Founder and Director of the Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery in Sydney, Professor Charlie Teo AM, is a controversial and charismatic brain surgeon. Globally renowned for his ability and willingness to perform com- plex and risky brain surgeries, he has given hope, time and life to patients all over the world. As passionate about teaching as performing surgery, Professor Teo has trained many of the world’s leading figures in neurosurgery at distinguished centres such as Johns Hopkins, Duke, Stanford and Harvard Universities, and the Barrow Neurological Institute. He has authored over 120 publications, two books on keyhole approaches to brain tumours and is the guest editor for several journals. Each year, Professor Teo devotes three months to educating surgeons and treat- ing children pro bono in developing countries. For these efforts, he has been recognised by Rotary International with the Paul Harris Fellowship for contribu- tion to International Health & Welfare (2007), and the Humanitarian Service Award (2008). He was a finalist in the NSW Australian of the Year awards in 2003 and 2009, and in 2011, he was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia. In 2012, he delivered the Australia Day Address to the Nation. In keeping with his desire to find cures for recurrent brain tumours, Professor Teo has raised over $20 million through various charities, including the Charlie Teo Foundation, which has been used to fund research both in Australia and abroad. In 2012, he addressed US Con- gress as the first non-politician Austra- lian on the need for more funding for brain cancer research. Charlie Teo is also a champion for the rights of young women in impoverished countries and a dedicated patron of charities committed to reducing animal cruelty. To quote Professor Teo “If I've operated on 8,000 brain tumours, if 7,999 patients were satisfied, if I'd done the right thing, if I have funded research like I have, if I've raised millions of dollars like I have, and yet there was one patient out there who was unhappy, I think it's a price that you pay. The good would overcome that one bit of bad.” Please join us for what will be a truly inspirational evening. Thursday 15 August 2019 Geoffrey McComas Theatre James Forbes Academy 1 Morrison Street, Hawthorn 7.15 pm for 7.30 pm Bookings are essential: from Tuesday 16 July via www.scotch.vic.edu.au Enquiries: Dr Atit Bhargava [email protected] Scotch College Publications Office - N Ross - February 2019 102 Great Scot Number 156 – April 2019